6 - Operant conditioning

Question 1

If the response is followed by a reinforcer, then we would say that a ___ of ___ exists.

Answer 1

Contingency of reinforcement
→ i.e., the delivery of the reinforcer is contingent upon the response

Question 2

If the response is followed by a punisher, then we would say that a ___ of ___ exists.

Answer 2

Contingency of punishment

Question 3

Contingencies of reinforcement and punishment can be divided into 2 subtypes, what are they?

Answer 3

Positive and negative
1) Positive reinforcement
2) Negative reinforcement
3) Positive punishment
4) Negative punishment

Question 4

How do we define the contingency, or the likely future consequence, that will follow our behaviour? (2 questions)i.e., how do we differentiate the 4 contingencies

Answer 4

1) Does the consequence consist of something being presented (+) or withdrawn (-)?
2) Does the consequence serve to strengthen (R) or weaken (P) the behavior?

Question 5

What is a positive contingency?

Answer 5

• Positive means that the behaviour has resulted in something being presented or added (+)
  → Does not necessarily mean something pleasant; just something being added

Question 6

What is a negative contingency?

Answer 6

• Negative means that the behaviour has resulted in something being removed or subtracted (-)
  → Does not necessarily mean something unpleasant or aversive; just something being removed

Question 7

What is a reinforcer contingency?

Answer 7

• Reinforcer means the behaviour has strengthened as a result of the consequence

Question 8

What is a punisher contingency?

Answer 8

• Punisher means the behaviour has weakened as a result of the consequence
  → Remember that only behaviour can be reinforced/strengthened, or punished/weakened, not the person or animal

Question 9

What is a positive reinforcement? Give an example with a rat.

Answer 9

• The presentation of a stimulus (+) (usually pleasant) following a response, which then leads to an increase in the future strength of that response
  → the behaviour results in the delivery of something the recipient likes, so the person is more likely to do that behaviour again in the future
• Examples
  → Rat presses bar (R) -> Receives food (Sr+)
  → Child says ‘please’ (R) -> Receives a cookie (Sr+)

Question 10

What is a negative reinforcement? Give an example.

Answer 10

• The removal of a stimulus (-) (usually unpleasant or aversive) following a response, which then leads to an increase in the future strength of that response
• Examples
  → Rat runs to the opposite side of the cage (R) -> Escapes the shock (Sr-)
  → Turn on a fan (R) -> Escape the heat (Sr-)

Question 11

When a person turns on a fan, is it negative reinforcement or positive reinforcement?

Answer 11

• to escape the heat (negative reinforcement) or
• to feel cool air (positive reinforcement)?
  → Either interpretation would be correct (both is the most correct answer)

Question 12

What is escape behaviour in the context of negative reinforcement?

Answer 12

• Results in the termination (stopping) of an aversive stimulus (the aversive stimulus is already present)
  → Examples: Turning on a fan when it’s hot; Taking an aspirin when you have a headache; Opening an umbrella when it rains (you’re escaping the rain)

Question 13

What is an avoidance behaviour in the context of negative reinforcement?

Answer 13

• Occurs before the aversive stimulus is presented and therefore prevents its delivery
  → Examples:
  → staying inside to avoid the rain; hiding in your car until your boss is gone

Question 14

What is a positive punishment? Give an example.

Answer 14

• The presentation of a stimulus (+) (usually unpleasant or aversive) following a response (behaviour), which then leads to a decrease in the future strength of that response
• Examples
  → Rat presses bar (R) -> Gets a shock (Sp+)
  → Child plays with food at the table (R) -> Gets a spanking (Sp+)

Question 15

What is a negative punishment? Give an example.

Answer 15

• The removal of a stimulus (-) (usually pleasant) following a response, which then leads to a decrease in the future strength of that response (behaviour)
  → the behaviour results in the removing of something the person likes, in order to decrease the behaviour in the future
• Examples:
  → Rat presses bar (R) -> Water spout retracts (Sp-)
  → Child plays with food at the table (R) -> Sent to room (time out) (Sp-)

Question 16

In positive reinforcers, what are the effects of immediate vs. delayed reinforcement?

Answer 16

• The more immediate the reinforcer (or punishment), the stronger its effect on the behaviour
  → p.ex: giving a dog a treat right after they do a trick
• The more delayed the reinforcer, the less effective its effect on the behaviour
  → The benefits of exercise and proper eating are delayed and therefore the reinforcing effect is weak
  → p.ex: if you give it too late, you might inadvertently reinforce the behaviour
  → p.ex: if a cat meow’s when she wants to go out, you can’t open the door right away, otherwise she’ll think that’s what it takes to go out (reinforced), you have to wait until she stops meowing to open the door

Question 17

How can we explain why people engage in immediately rewarding behaviour, at the expense of delayed rewards?

Answer 17

• As is explained by the concepts of immediate and delayed positive reinforcements, the more immediate the reinforcer, the stronger its effect on behaviour
• This is why people will, for example, watch TV and eat candy instead of working out

Question 18

Explain the concept of a primary reinforcer.

Answer 18

• A primary reinforcer is an event that is innately reinforcing
• Things we are born to like, rather than learn to like, which naturally reinforces our behaviour
  → p.ex: water, food, proper temperature, sexual contact, safety
  → often associated with basic physiological needs
• Reinforcing value often linked to a state of deprivation (prolonged absence of an event; increases appetitiveness)

Question 19

Explain the concept of a secondary reinforcer.

Answer 19

• A secondary reinforcer is an event that is reinforcing because it has been associated with some other reinforcer
• Things we learn to like because they become associated with other things we like
  → if studying leads to good marks, we’ll start to enjoy studying; fine clothes; a nice car
  → these may be culture-specific
• Conditioned stimuli that have been associated with appetitive unconditioned stimuli (USs) can also function as secondary reinforcers
• Example:
  → A tone that has been associated with food can be a secondary reinforcer for the operant response of lever-pressing

Question 20

True or false: Primary reinforcers can be culture-specific.

Answer 20

False: Secondary reinforcers can be culture-specific.

Question 21

What is intrinsic reinforcement?

Answer 21

• Reinforcement provided by the mere act of performing the behaviour (the operant behaviour)
• Doing something just for the sake of doing a good job
• Examples:
  → Reading for the satisfaction of gaining knowledge
  → Rock climbing is invigorating; Attending parties is fun

Question 22

What is extrinsic reinforcement?

Answer 22

• Reinforcement provided by some consequence that is external to the behavior (incentives)
• Examples:
  → Reading the supplemental readings just to pass the test (not just to gain knowledge of research in the field)
  → You work for money

Question 23

The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic reinforcement is not always clear, how can we help determine which it is?

Answer 23

• It often helps to focus on the behaviour that is being strengthened to determine if it’s intrinsic or extrinsic
  → p.ex: giving a child candy to be quiet in a supermarket is extrinsic
  → BUT, the candy itself is enjoyable, thus eating it is intrinsic, but when using it to curve behaviour, it then becomes extrinsic-

Question 24

What are natural reinforcers?

Answer 24

• Natural reinforcers are reinforcers that are naturally provided for a certain behaviour
• They are a typical consequence of the behaviour within that setting
  → p.ex: Money is a natural consequence of selling merchandise
  → p.ex: Gold medals are a natural consequence of hard training and a great performance

Question 25

What are contrived reinforcers?

Answer 25

• Reinforcers that have been deliberately arranged to modify a behaviour
• They are not a typical consequence of the behaviour in that setting
  → Examples:
  → Crowd cheers when you make a good shot
  → Teacher congratulates you each time you score well on a test or assignment

Question 26

What is shaping?

Answer 26

• The gradual creation of new operant behaviour through reinforcement of successive approximations to that behaviour – continually modifying your behaviour so that you may improve on it
• How did you shape your lab partner to perform a desired behaviour?
  → p.ex: if you’re trying to get a rat to press the lever (reinforce the behaviour) but it isn’t working, you can use shaping (step 3 of the lab, reinforcing when he rears closer and closer to the bar)
• Effective shaping is often carried out with the use of a secondary reinforcer

Question 27

Give some examples of how most of our human behaviours have been shaped.

Answer 27

→ Learning to eat with utensils
→ Learning to dress ourselves
→ Learning to write
→ Learning to speak politely

Question 28

In shaping, the feedback we receive allows us to ___ and ___ our behaviour over time and repeated trials.

Answer 28

Modify; improve
→ at first, you praise any type of behaviour, whether well done or not, but eventually you only praise it when it’s well done
→ moving up in levels of difficulty essentially
→ p.ex: doing research for a prof, at the first task the prof gives you good feedback, but you eventually have to take on a new task with a new difficulty level to receive more of that positive feedback

Question 29

In shaping, the ___ ___ (satisfaction of good performance) provide the necessary reinforcements needed for behaviour modification.

Answer 29

Natural consequences

Question 30

As gone over in the previous cards, reinforcers can be described as… (5)

Answer 30

→ immediate or delayed
→ primary or secondary
→ generalized
→ intrinsic or extrinsic
→ natural or contrived